PC Alberta response to Question 05

Question: What commitment will you make to the construction of more affordable housing in cities?

What measures would you be willing to introduce to encourage the participation of the private sector in the development of more affordable housing in the large cities?

Answer: Giving all Calgarians the chance to better themselves and share in Alberta’s prosperity is important to our party. Under our government the Alberta Safe Communities Secretariat was established, a multi-ministry initiative designed in part to help the homeless access the services they needed to improve their lives. We used wraparound services and linked social service departments to offer the homeless comprehensive assistance on everything from housing to health care. These efforts will be continued on an even wider scale.

We will continue to support the 10-year Plan to End Homelessness, which has seen 3,759 people housed since 2008. Our party will continue to support investment in affordable housing, and is proud to have supported the building of 3,615 additional affordable housing units in the City of Calgary as of fall 2011, with total funding of $414 million. This investment was leveraged with the private, charity, and non-profit sector for total investment of over $722 million in affordable housing on Calgary.

As well, the PC Party recognizes the valuable role municipalities play in encouraging affordable housing through zoning and density bonusing in full consultation with communities and neighbours while being mindful of local concerns. For example, simplifying measures to approve secondary suites would contribute to a market based solution for affordable housing.